A remote control device, or remote controller, is often used to provide convenient control of operations of a separate electronic device or devices or system of electronic devices from a remote location. For purpose of example, a hand-held, battery-operated remote controller is often used to control operations of televisions, set top boxes (STBs), digital video recorders (DVRs), consumer premises equipment (CPE), and various other home or consumer electronic devices which may be used for receiving, rendering, recording and/or playing audio, video, multimedia content and the like.
In a typical arrangement, a hand-held remote controller transmits a wireless signal, such as an infrared (IR) signal, that includes embedded command codes to a remote control unit (RCU) of one or more electronic devices to be controlled. The infrared signal propagates to the equipment to be controlled and is detected and decoded using an infrared (IR) detector and signal processing circuitry of the RCU. Accordingly, wireless remote control systems provide the convenience of remote operation without the need to directly engage the electronic devices to be controlled and without the need to hard wire the remote controller to the equipment being controlled.
When a problem is experienced with the performance of a remote control operation, there may be many possible sources or reasons for the problem. The source and type of problem are typically difficult for a consumer to identify, verify and resolve. Such problems may even be difficult for trained technicians using specialized equipment to quickly verify and resolve. While some problems may relate to faulty electronic hardware components or software of a remote controller or faulty components or software of the RCU of the electronic device to be controlled or a communication error between the two, a further possible source of the problem may be that the remote control signals are being degraded or blocked by other signals herein defined as interference noise.
In the event of noise above a predetermined acceptable level, the remote control or command signals from the remote controller may not be properly receivable by the signal detector of the RCU of the electronic device to be controlled. Noise interference problems are often very difficult to diagnose, identify, detect and verify by a home user, consumer or other operator of the equipment, particularly because such problems can come and go and change over time for various reasons. Such problems generally lead to user frustration and complaints.
By way of example, the performance of an infrared (IR) remote control system may become blocked or degraded by IR interference noise generated by certain types of television screens, such as certain types of plasma and liquid crystal display (LCD) large-screen back-lit televisions which may be relatively strong sources of infrared radiation. The noise emitted by the TV screen may be of a sufficient level to interfere with IR signals to be received at a set top box (STB), such as a cable TV set top box. Thus, the display monitor or television to which the STB is connected may itself be the source of the noise being received by the STB. If the problem with respect to remote control can be verified to be one caused by interference noise from the television, a possible solution to the problem may be simply a matter of re-positioning the STB relative to the TV screen. However, as stated above, verifying the problem to be a noise interference problem among numerous other possibilities is not a simple task by the end user and proper placement of the STB to mitigate noise interference problems is entirely hit or miss. Thus, verification of such a problem and a proper resolution of such a problem typically require a visit from a trained field service technician using special equipment.